SeafoodNews.com developed through a collaboration between John
Sackton, Founder of Seafood.com, and Paul Brown, President of Urner Barry.

In 1994 John Sackton founded Seafood.com to provide internet services, and market
data and research to the Seafood Industry. He also began selling some Urner Barry
data products, including Foreign Trade Data, and advising Urner Barry on web development
ideas. By 1998, John was writing some news stories on the seafood.com website as
a way of increasing traffic. That year, Urner Barry came into the business as a
partner, and helped expand the news service. In 2000 during the height of the dotcom
boom, Paul and John considered venture capital funding for seafood.com, but ultimately
sold the company to iTradeNetwork. When iTradeNetwork determined seafood was not
one of their core markets, John repurchased Seafood.com, and unwound the deal.

In 2002 Seafood.com became a subscription news service, and was incorporated into
Urner Barry’s Comtell service for seafood. Since then, SeafoodNews.com has
become the most widely read daily seafood industry news service in North America,
and has a strong international following as well.

In the year 2000, there were more than 38 companies trying to provide information
and trading services to the seafood industry online. Only 2 have survived. Our longevity
is due to our honesty with both our friends and the industry as a whole; our independence;
and our commitment to the overall success of the seafood industry as the cornerstone
of our own success as well.